inStorebuyer - August 2011 - 16

foodserviceretail
APPETIZING IDEAS FOR PREPARED FOODS

HOT TIMES FOR

Not only can Thai food taste hot, adding more Thai food on the menu at your deli operation can heat up sales and keep you in step with customer demand. Take note of this trend: Sriracha hot sauce—or Thai hot sauce—is the third biggest climber among ingredients on the menus of America’s restaurants. According to the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association’s 2011 Shopper Innovations Report, the appearance of Sriracha hot sauce on U.S. restaurant menus rose by 41% in market penetration from 2009 to 2010. In Thailand, Sriracha is frequently used as a dipping sauce, particularly for seafood. In the U.S., Sriracha can be used as a hot sauce and topping for sushi rolls, and or as a glaze for Buffalo chicken wings. Today’s diners are more familiar with Asian cuisine than ever before, as Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Indian and regional varieties of Chinese cuisines have become commonplace on menus and marquees across the country. As popular as Asian cuisines are, however, Asian concepts still occupy a relatively small share of the Top 500 restaurant chains in the U.S., leaving room for

chain operators to grow their market share, perhaps more than any other dining segment. “Looking at sales and unit numbers, we see that established Asian concepts have been able to grow, while newer Asian concepts have also been emerging. Both limited- and full-service Asian concepts within the Top 500 were even able to grow sales and unit counts through a sluggish economy, signaling strong

opportunities for chains within this underrepresented segment,” says Mary Chapman, Director at Technomic. To help restaurant operators and others aligned with the foodservice industry understand where growth opportunities exist in Asian cuisine, Technomic has developed the Market Intelligence Report: Asian. Interesting report findings include: Among the Top 250 restaurant

chains, there were 19 percent more Asian items on menus in the second half of 2010 compared with the same time period one year earlier. Between 2008 and 2010, the number of consumers who said they would be very likely to order a Chinese-style beef dish at a restaurant increased from 30 to 46 percent. Fifty-eight percent of surveyed consumers have tried and liked Asian sauces (teriyaki, soy, sweet and sour, Szechuan). These sauces were second only to barbecue in the number of consumers who said they had tried and liked an Asian sauce with a pork dish. Chapman points to the emergence of Chipotle’s new Asian fast-casual concept as an indication of things to come in the segment, and he also feels that traditional varied menu chain operators can benefit from consumer familiarity with Asian cuisines by adding new appetizers and entrees to their menus. Earlier this year, Chipotle registered ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen as the name of the new concept. The first location is expected to be in Washington, D.C.
JOHN UNREIN

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inStorebuyer - August 2011

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